The topic of economic justification of libraries seems omnipresent, and looms over libraries of all sizes.

I recently wrote about the Library Use Value Calculator on my library's website, which is a simple tool that tries to give the cost of libraries some context. It shows just how much money a patron would have to spend in order to receive the same materials and services outside the library, in an effort to make the tax money they spend on the library a bit more tangible.

I bring this up again because, earlier this month, the Americans for Libraries Council released a report called "Worth Their Weight: An Assessment of the Evolving Field of Library Valuation" (info; pdf [1.3M]). It's 104 pages long, and provides "an overview of the cutting-edge field of library valuation, or models for expressing a library's multiple contributions to its community in dollars and cents."

I haven't read the whole thing, but I did read page 24 - where they mention the Chelmsford Library and the Library Calculator.

Chapter 3 of the report is titled "Examples Illustrating Methodologies and Trends," and under Section 3.6 - Encouraging Developments, they cite how we adapted for our website the Library Value Calculator from the MLA, and that it subsequently spread to other libraries as a valuable tool.

So, hooray for recognition. But more importantly, the report covers many aspects of library valuation, including valuation methods and tools, tips from the private sector, and additional case studies and examples from other libraries. Any library facing budget issues or closure might benefit from this report.

Thanks to staff from the Montgomery City-County (AL) Public Library for point out this report to me.acl, americans for libraries council, economic justification, libraries, library, library calculator, library use calculator, library use value calculator, library valuation, library value, public libraries, public library, value of libraries, worth their weight